N Ossetia parliament bans self-nominees to run for head of republic

Photo ITAR-TASS

VLADIKAVKAZ, June 29 (Itar-Tass) —— North Ossetia’s Legislative Assembly has banned self-nominees to run for head of the republic.

On Thursday, North Ossetian lawmakers voted down corresponding amendments to the law on elections of North Ossetian head of republic.

Deputy speaker of the republican parliament Stanislav Kesayev called these amendments “a step backwards.” “The mess around candidates for the post is a road to nowhere. We should not make a show of elections,” he said.

According to lawmakers, each citizen still has a possibility to realize his or her constitutional rights and run for any top-ranking state post via a party. And a new law on parties, under which a party has to have only 500 members to be registered, makes it much easier.

Also on Thursday, incumbent speaker of the North Ossetian Legislative Assembly Larisa Khabitsov said she was not going to run for a parliament seat in the next elections in October. “New people should emerge in the political field, it is not right to be in in the foreground for years. I have worked enough,” she explained her reasons.